In the final of three regional identification camps for the U.S. U-14 national team, 78 players have been invited to a camp from April 4-8 in Tinton Falls, N.J.
Of those invited, 16 play for clubs within New England or have hometown roots here. They were first identified at the East Regional Showcase from Oct. 26-29, 2018 in Bermuda Run, N.C., then were further scouted at youth national team identification centers. The 16 players call the Development Academy, Boys ECNL and National Premier League home, further showing youth development is often about more than a specific league.
U.S. Soccer has already held West and Central region camps, and players invited to this East camp will similarly be split into four teams: Northeast, New York/New Jersey, Atlantic and South Atlantic. They'll play a series of scrimmages and train under the guidance of Tony Lepore (Farmington, Conn.), the director of the new and expanded U-14 talent identification program.